Star Micronics LC24-30 User Manual
LC24-30
COLOUR
USERS MANUAL
NOT INTENDED FOR SALE
VDE Statement
This device carries the VDE RF1 protection mark to certify that it meets the radio interference requirements of the Postal Ordinance No. 243/ 199 1. The additional marking
“Vlg. 243/P” expresses in short form that this is a peripheral device (not operable alone)
which only individually meets the Class B RF1 requirements in accordance with the DIN
VDE 0878 part 3/l 1.89 and the Postal Ordinance 243/ 199 1.
If this drvicr is operated in conjunction with other devices within a set-up. m order to
take advantage of a “General (Operating) Authorization” in accordance with the Postal
Ordinance 2431199 1, the complete set-up must comply with the Class B limits in actordance with the DIN VDE 0878 part 3/ 11.89. as well as satisfy the preconditions in
accordance with 32 and the prerequisites in accordance with 33 of thr Postal Ordinance
243/1991.
As a rule, this is only fulfilled when the device is operated in a set-up which has been
type-tested and provided with a VDE RF1 protection mark with the additional marking
“Vfg 243”.
Machine Noise Information Ordinance 3. GSGV. January 18. 1991: The sound pressure
level at the operator position is equal or less than 70 dB(A] according to IS0 7779.
Bescheinigung des lmporteurs
1Iiwmit wird bescheinigt. da$ der
COMPUTER DRUCKER 924 190s
in ijbereinstimmung mit den Bestimmungen der
VDE 0878 3/22.89. EN 55022: 1987. BMPT Vf& 243/ 1991 und 46/ 1992
funk-entstijrt ist.
Dem Zentralamt fiir Zulassungen im Femmeldewesen wurde das Inverkehrbringen
dieses Gerates angezeigt und die Berechtigung zur uberptifung der Serie auf die Einhal
tung der Bestimmungen eingrr8umt.
Star Micronirs Deutschland. GmbH
WrsterbachstraCe 59. D-60489
Frankfurt. Germany
The above stnt~mrnts apply or@ to printers marketed in Germany
Trademark acknowledgments
LC24-30 Colour, LC24-200 Colour, X24-200. PT-109. SPC-SK: Star Micronics Co
Ltd.
LQ850. LQSSO. LQ1050. LQ1060: Seiko Epson Corporation
IBM PC, IBM Proprinter X24E. IBM Proprinter XL24E. IBM Proprinter X24, IBM
Proprinter XL24: International Business Machines Corporation.
TrueType Macintosh: Apple Computer Inc
PostScript: Adobe Systems Incorporated
MS-DOS. Microsoft Windows. Windows 3.1: Microsoft Corporation
Grappler: Orange Micro Inr
Notice
.
All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part of this manual in any form whatsoever,
without STAR’s express permission. is strictly forbidden.
.
The contents of this manual arr subject to change without noticr
.
All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this manual at
the time of printing. However. should any errors be found. STAR would greatly
appreciate being informed of them.
.
The above notwithstanding. STAR can assume no responsibility for any errors in
this manual.
0 Copyright 1993 Star Micron& Co., Ltd
Guide to this manual
The LC24-30 Colour is essentially a very easy printer to
use. However, it is also capable of a number of complex
functions. This manual is divided into two main sec-
tions: Section 1 consists of Chapters 1 to 3, Section 2
consists of Chapters 4 to 7. A glossary, table of contents,
appendix and index are also provided for reference.
For normal everyday use, you may never need to refer to
Section II at all. We strongly recommend, however, that
you read all of Section I before connecting and using the
printer for the first time.
Section I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Appendix
Glossary
Features and parts
Unpacking and setting up the printer,
including setting up your computer
system software
Using the printer, Including loading paper,
using the control panel, choosing different
fonts and
Further technIcal InformatIon.
Simple explanations of printer and
computer jargon
printing
Table of contents
Guide to this manual
Table of contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Features
Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
~~...,..~~.,.....,.~.....~~..,...~~..,
~.....~~...,,.~.~.......,,..~~~.~~..~,..~~..,,.......,,.......~......~~. 5
Chapter 2 - Unpacking and setting up
Choosing a place for the printer
Unpacking the printer
Preparing the printer
Opening
Installing the ribbon cartridge
Fitting the paper support
Connecting
the front
the printer to
Setting up the printer in
Setting up the printer in MS-DOS
.............................................................. 8
................................................................
cover..
................................................................
..............................................................
Windows .......................................
..~.,,...~~.,~.....,~~..~,.,~...,,.......~..... 1
.............................................. 7
....................................................... 10
your computer..
.........................................
..........................
9
.9
.I2
13
15
17
Chapter 3 - Using the printer
Loading paper
Ready mode and Not-Ready
Using the control panel
Printing out your documents..
In Windows..
In MS-DOS
Using different
In Windows..
In MS-DOS
Using other printer features
Dealing with printing problems
......................................................................... 19
mode..
..........................................................
....................................................................................
....................................................................................... 27
...............................................................
fonts
...................................................................................
......................................................................................
.................................................
....................................
..............................................
............................................ 32
.24
25
.27
27
29
.29
.30
.32
Page i
Chapter 4 - Printer reference
Introduction
Using the control panel.. ........................................................
Making Electronic DIP Switch
Selecting which
Connecting the printer to your computer.. ..........................
Choosing which type of cable to
Setting up the printer with a Windows computer
Setting up the printer with an MS-DOS computer
Setting up the printer with a
Using fonts and varying the appearance of text..
Introduction
Pitch.. ..................................................................................................
Weight.. ..............................................................................................
Bitmap fonts ......................................................................................
Scalable
In Windows
installing
Selecting
In MS-DOS ......................................................................................
Selecting
Changing
Preventing software font selection .................................................
Using different types of paper
Useful printing features .........................................................
Portrait and landscape printing
Face-up and
Manual by-pass ..............................................................................
Pausing printing .............................................................................
Parking fanfold paper ....................................................................
The tear-off function ......................................................................
Controlling the paper position
Paper feed
Form feed
Forward micro feed .......................................................................
Reverse micro feed
Setting the auto
Selecting Zoom
Selecting Quiet mode.. ...........................................................
Saving current settings
.............................................................................
settings ................................ 37
emulation
to use
Macintosh..
........................................
use.. .........................................
...................................
..................... .47
.................... .48
............... 50
to fonts and typefaces.. ...........................................
fonts
....................................................................................
.....................................................................................
TrueType fonts..
different
different fonts..
the character pitch.. .........................................................
fonts
................................................................
...................................................................
.................................................................
...............................................
....................................................
face-down
printing.. .................................................
..............................................
.......................................................................................
........................................................................................
........................................................................
load position..
mode print
....................................................
size..
(the Macro
.........................................
feature).
.......................
33
34
46
47
.47
.49
.50
.51
.51
.51
.52
.52
.52
.53
.53
.53
.53
.54
55
57
.57
.57
.57
.58
.58
.58
59
.59
.59
.59
.60
.60
61
61
62
Page ii
Making adjustments to the printer
Setting the print gap
Adjusting vertical alignment
Testing the printer..
Short test..
Long test..
.......................................................................................
.......................................................................................
Printing out a hexadecimal dump
.....................................................................
........................................................
................................................................
.........................................
Chapter 5 - Options
Push tractor unit
Installing the push tractor unit
Loading
Printing
Parking
Unparking paper
Using the tear-off function..
fanfold paper
on
paper
Serial-to-parallel interface converter
Connecting the serial-to-parallel converter
Setting the converter’s DIP switches..
Setting
up a serial connection..
On a
Windows
On an MS-DOS computer
.....................................................................
......................................................
...................................................................
fanfold
paper
.................................................................................
............................................................................
computer
..............................................................
..........................................................
..................................................... 87
..................................................................
..................................................................
.......................................
....................................
..................................
.......................................... 85
63
.63
.65
67
67
.67
68
72
72
.76
.79
.81
.81
.82
83
83
87
88
Chapter 6 - Troubleshooting
Common problems
Checking system
In Windows..
In MS-DOS
.................................................................................
....................................................................................
Warning beeps
and solutions..
software settings..
......................................................................
Chapter 7 - Software commands
Introduction..
Font control commands
Character set commands
Character size and pitch commands..
Vertical
Horizontal position
Graphics commands..
Download character commands
Other printer commands..
.........................................................................
..............................................................
............................................................
position commands..
commands
..................................................................
......................................................
..................................................
................................................. 138
............................................................
......................................
..................................
.........................................
.90
102
.I02
.I03
104
105
.I07
.I12
116
123
.I30
.I34
140
Page iii
Appendix
Specifications
Default Electronic DIP Switch settings..
Printer beep tones
Interface pin outs
Parallel interface
Serial interface
Character sets
Standard character set #2.. ......................................................... .I54
International character sets.. ...................................................... .I56
IBM character set #2 .................................................................... .I57
Code page #437 (U.S.A.)
Code page #850 (Multi-lingual)
Code page #860 (Portuguese)
Code page #861 (Icelandic). ............................................................. 161
Code page #863 (Canadian French) ................................................ 162
Code page #865 (Nordic)
Character set #I ........................................................................... .I64
IBM special character set
........................................................................
.............................
................................................................ 150
..................................................................
........................................................................... 151
..............................................................................
.......................................................................
..................................................................
.......................................................
......................................................... 160
..................................................................
.............................................................
145
149
151
152
153
157
159
163
165
Glossary
Index
Customer service information
Page iv
167
179
Chapter 1
Introduction
Features
This printer, the LC24-30 Colour, lets you print sharp,
impressive-looking text and graphics, and has a wide
range of features that will make it an indispensable
companion for your personal computer at home or in
the office.
.
High speed - the printer can print text at speeds of
up to 240 characters per second.
.
Letter quality text - the LC24-30 Colour has 11
built-in bitmapped (fixed size) fonts, featuring the
following typefaces: Roman, Sanserif, Courier, Prestige, Script and Draft.
.
Scalable fonts - for users of Windows (version 3.1
or later), 15 TrueType fonts are supplied on a floppy
disk.
.
High resolution - the printer can print at resolutions of up to 360 dots per inch.
.
Vibrant color - the printer can print both text and
graphics in a range of colors, including magenta,
cyan, violet, yellow, orange and green. Each printer
comes with a color ribbon as standard, allowing you
to choose between black and white, and color printing.
.
Easy paper handling - loading paper is simplicity
itself, the paper tray holding up to 55 sheets of
paper. Printed output can be delivered face-down (in
sequential order).
Page 1
Easy set-up - Electronic DIP Switch mode allows you
to make power-on settings from the control panel.
Utility software for IBM PC and compatible computers also allows you to make these settings from your
computer.
Easy-to-use control panel - you can control the
printer’s functions, make appropriate settings and
determine the printer’s current status by means of
the control panel. The panel has only three keys and
is straightforward to use.
Zooming - print-outs can be scaled to 50% or 67%
of actual size; in this way, wide documents, such as
spreadsheets, can be printed on a single sheet of
paper.
Landscape or portrait paper loading - paper can
be loaded into the printer in either landscape
(widthwise) or portrait (upright) orientation. bandscape printing also facilitates the printing of wide
documents.
Note:
.
.
Page 2
Letter size paper can be loaded into the printer in either landscape or portrait orientation. However, the length of a printed
line is limited to a maximum of 8” (20.3cm).
Automatic emulation change - the printer sup-
ports Epson, NEC and IBM printer command sets; it
can automatically sense which emulation is
required and change driver accordingly.
Easy-to-use, long-lasting design - the front panel,
power key and interface socket are all easy to get at,
and you can make most adjustments without
removing the printer’s front cover.
-
In addition to these features, the printer can print on a
variety of different sizes and types of paper: single
sheets (also called cut sheets), fanfold paper (continuous
computer paper with holes in the edges), and multi-part
forms (allowing you to print several copies at once). Single sheets can be up to 11” wide, and fanfold paper can
be up to 10” wide; however, the maximum length of a
printed line is limited to 8”. To use fanfold paper you
need to install the push tractor unit, which.is available
as an option.
A simple control panel operation lets you “park” fanfold
paper, so that you do not have to remove it from the
printer when switching to single sheets. When you want
to resume printing on the fanfold paper, you can simply
“unpark” it.
Page 3
Paper delivery selector
Extension cover
The printer
Paper guides
Release lever
Interlace connector
level
I
The printer with the front cover removed
Page 4
Parts
The main components are shown in the two diagrams
opposite.
The paper guides and paper support hold single-
sheets, setting their position so that they are fed into the
printer correctly.
The release lever grips single sheets as they are fed in.
The lever should be pushed towards the back of the
printer to hold single sheets properly, and released
(pulled forward) when fanfold paper is in use.
The front cover protects internal components and
reduces printing noise.
The extension cover holds printed output from the
printer.
The stack wire supports printed output as it rests on
the extension cover.
The paper tray holds up to 55 single sheets for feeding
into the printer.
The paper delivery selector allows you to choose
whether print-outs are delivered face-up (in reverse) for
fanfold paper or face-down (in sequence) for single
sheets.
The control panel displays information about the print-
er’s current working and allows you to control the printer’s functions and operation.
The power switch turns the printer on and off.
The interface connector accepts the cable connector
that links the printer to the host computer.
The print head transfers the image to the paper.
The ribbon cartridge contains the ribbon which the
head uses to mark the paper.
The thumb wheel lets you advance paper manually.
Page 5
The platen guides the paper through the printer and
provides -a solid surface against which the print head
can make an impression on the paper.
The adjustment lever lets you adjust the position of the
print head for differing thicknesses of paper and for
multi-part forms.
Page 6
Unpacking and
Chapter 2
setting up
Choosing a place for the printer
Keep the following points in mind when deciding where
to put your printer.
.
Choose a firm, level surface where the printer will
not be exposed to vibration.
.
Make sure that the printer is close enough to your
computer for you to connect the two with your
printer cable.
.
Allow 6” (15cm) of free space on either side of the
printer. (If you are going to use fanfold paper, make
sure that there is adequate space for paper behind
the printer).
.
Make sure that the printer is not in direct sunlight.
.
Make sure that the printer is well away from heaters.
.
Make sure that the surrounding area is clean, dry
and free of dust.
.
Make sure the printer is connected to a steady
power supply. It should not be on the same electric
circuit as appliances that cause spikes, such as
copiers or refrigerators.
.
Use a power supply of the voltage indicated on the
printer’s identification plate.
.
Make sure that the room is not too humid.
Page 7
Unpacking the printer
There should be five items in the box: the printer, a color
ribbon cartridge, the paper support, a 3 l/2” floppy disk
and this user’s manual.
If anything is missing, contact the store where you
bought the printer and ask them to supply the missing
part.
It is a good idea to keep the original box and all the
packing materials, in case you later need to pack the
printer up again and send it somewhere at a later date.
A push tractor unit (PT- 1OQ) and a serial-to-parallel
converter (SPC-8K) are available as optional accessories.
Installation of these two options is described in
Chapter 5.
Page 8
-
Preparing the printer
Place the printer in the spot you have chosen and carry
out the following steps:
Opening the front cover
.
Hook your fingers under the two small projecting
tabs on either side of the front cover, grip the cover
firmly and pull upwards. The front cover should
open.
.
Now pull the cover up and forwards so that it swings
open as shown.
Note:
If you wish, you can remove the front cover completely. How-
ever, we strongly recommend that you put it back on the
printer again as soon as you have installed the ribbon car-
tridge. This cover prevents objects that may damage the
printer from getting inside it, and also reduces printing noise.
Page 9
Installing the ribbon cartridge
.
Turn the tension knob on the cartridge clockwise, to
take the slack out of the ribbon.
Tension knob,
.
Gently lower the cartridge into the cartridge holder.
Make sure that the spindle on the cartridge holder
fits into the socket on the base of the cartridge.
Page 10
.
Carefully position the ribbon between the print head
and the print head shield as shown.
Print head shield
.
Push down gently but firmly on the cartridge to
bon
Print head
make sure that it is properly in place. You should be
able to feel a small amount of play (about 1 / 10” -
2.5mm) in the cartridge as you press down on it.
.
Check that the ribbon is properly in place between
the print head and print head shield. Turn the cartridge’s tension knob clockwise again to take up any
remaining slack.
Note:
It is important to make sure that the ribbon is properly positioned between the print head and print head shield. Otherwise, the quality of printed output will be poor and the ribbon
may get damaged.
Page 11
.
Close the front cover by swinging it down and pushing down on the raised parts at the rear so that it
fits firmly into place.
Fitting the paper support
.
Fit the two tabs on the paper support into the rear
cover slots as shown.
Page 12
Connecting the printer to your computer
The printer and computer must be connected with a
cable. The computer sends the documents that you
want to print to the printer via this cable. A cable is not
supplied with the printer.
Make sure that the printer and computer are both
switched off before you connect them.
You will probably use a parallel cable to connect the
printer to your computer. The type of parallel cable you
need is a standard 36-pin Centronics parallel cable. The
parallel cable should be no longer than 6’ (2m). Other-
wise, the transfer of information between your computer
and the printer may not work properly.
The parallel cable has a 25-pin “D-type” plug at one end,
and a 36-pin Centronics connector at the other. Plug the
25-pin plug into the parallel socket on your computer.
This will probably be labelled Printer, Parallel, PRN,
LPTl or something similar.
Printer
Page 13
Secure the connector with the clips as shown.
Note:
Page 14
Connection using the optional serial-to-parallel converter is
described in Chapter 5.
3
Setting up the printer in Windows
The LC24-30 Colour is ideally suited for use with com-
puters running Microsoft Windows system software. It
works best with the newest version of Windows - Win-
dows 3.1. If you are running a version of Windows earlier than 3.1, we recommend you upgrade your software
to version 3.1. In particular, Windows 3.1 will allow you
to use TrueType fonts. Fifteen TrueType fonts are
included on the floppy disk packaged with this printer.
To use the printer with Windows, you need to install a
file known as the printer driver onto your computer.
This file is supplied on the floppy disk that comes with
the printer.
The following description assumes that you are using a
mouse. (Click and double-click refer to the action of
using the mouse to point at an item with the on-screen
pointer, and then clicking either once, or twice in quick
succession.)
If you are not using a mouse, you can still carry out the
installation. Refer to the Microsoft Windows User’s Guide
to find out how to use the keyboard instead of a mouse
to operate Windows.
To install the printer driver under Windows 3.1, use the
following steps:
Turn on the printer and start up your computer.
If Windows does not start up automatically, type
“WIN” and then press Enter or Return.
Double-click the Control Panel icon in the Main window.
Double-click the Printers icon
If you have never previously installed a printer on
your system under Windows 3.1, a list of supported
printers is displayed. If you have already installed
one or more printers, click on Add to display the list
of supported printers.
Page 15
.
Click on Install Unlisted or Updated Printer in the
list, so that this option is highlighted.
.
Click Install. A window prompts you to put in the
floppy disk supplied with the printer.
.
Insert the disk with the printer driver file on it and
click OK. A new list of printers appears.
(If you have inserted the disk into a drive other than
drive A, you must type in the drive letter followed by
a colon and a backslash, e.g. “B:\” before selecting
OK.)
.
Select LC24-30 Colour from the new list of printers.
.
Click OK. A list of installed printers appears, which
now includes the LC24-30 Colour.
.
Click on Set As Default Printer.
.
Click on Close to return to the Control Panel win-
dow.
For instructions on how to configure the printer, see
Chapter 5 of the Microsoft Windows User’s Guide, entitled Control Panel.
If you cannot print from your application programs successfully after installing the driver, refer to the section
Setting up the printer with a Windows computer on
page 47 of Chapter 4.
For a description of how to install the TrueType fonts
supplied on the 3 l/2” floppy disk accompanying the
printer, see page 52 of Chapter 4.
Note:
Page 16
Windows applications always print to the currently selected
default printer, unless the user chooses a different printer
from within the application.
r
Setting up the printer in MS-DOS
IBM PC’s and compatibles running MS-DOS will usually
work with a printer connected to the parallel port without any special set-up.
Try printing out some text as follows:
.
Turn on the printer and start up your computer.
l Type “PRINT” followed by the name of a text file, for
example, “AUTOEXEC.BAT”, and then press Enter
or Return. If a message “Name of list device [PRN]:”
comes up on the screen, press Enter or Return
again.
.
The printer should print out the named text file.
If you cannot print, refer to the section Setting up the
printer with an MS-DOS computer on page 48 of
Chapter 4.
To print from specific MS-DOS applications, refer to the
section Setting up the printer with an MS-DOS computer
on page 48 of Chapter 4 and, if necessary, to the application’s own manual.
Note: Unlike Windows applications, MS-DOS application programs
select printers individually. For each application that you use,
you will have to select the printer in the application before
you can print a file from it.
Page 17
Chapter 3
Loading paper
The paper tray can hold up to 55 sheets of paper. To
load the paper, use the following steps (for a description
of how to load fanfold paper refer to page 76 of
Chapter 5).
.
Move the release lever towards the back of the
printer and pull the paper tray cover forward.
Using the printer
Page 19
.
The paper guides move freely from side to side.
Adjust the left-hand paper guide to the position you
want.
.
Pick up your stack of paper.
Page20
.
Cut sheet paper can sometimes stick together, causing problems when the paper is drawn through the
printer. To prevent this, flick through the stack of
paper with your thumb. This helps ensure that each
sheet of paper is loose within the stack and will be
fed through the printer separately.
.
Now make sure that all the sheets are properly lined
up by tapping the end of the stack gently but firmly
on a flat surface, such as a table-top.
Page 21
.
Now place the paper in the paper tray.
Paper guides
.
Adjust the right-hand paper guide so that the paper
stack fits snugly between the guides. The paper
must be able to slide down freely into the printer,
but should not be able to move from side to side.
.
Page 22
Push the paper tray cover closed.
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